[MIAMIHERALD] Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is warning that he’ll take up arms and lead a revolution if a government comes into power that wants to hand the country’s "riches" to "imperialist" forces.
In a campaign speech Wednesday, Maduro ‐ who is hoping to win a new six-year term in a highly questioned May 20 election ‐ accused his nearest opposition rival, Henri Falcón, of wanting to sell the country out to "the gringos."
"If someday a government was in power that intended to hand over [our] riches, I would be the first one to raise the alarm, grab a gun and start an armed revolution with the people, if necessary," he told a crowd of supporters in Vargas. "I would be the first one to do it, and call the people to arms."
His opponent, Falcón, a one-time government supporter turned dissident, is struggling to attract voters who are wary that going to the polls will legitimize a deeply flawed electoral process. And most of the major opposition groups are calling for an outright boycott of the election.
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